Lewis trying to work his way back into Canes rotation

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.---Malcolm Lewis is the family jokester, always willing to try and make people laugh.

Even after suffering a grotesque, season-ending ankle injury last season in Miami’s 42-36 overtime win over Georgia Tech, it was Lewis that reassured his mother Marlene that he’d be fine, that what happened to him was part of football.

But through the first five games of Miami’s season, the wide receiver admits there have been times it’s been tougher than he imagined to rehab his ankle and work his way back into the Hurricanes lineup.

“It’s a matter of being patient, working on my techniques and trying to get better,” said Lewis, a former star at Miramar High. “Tracy [Howard] and my friends played a big part so I could get my confidence back. The guys have been pushing me and telling me to get through things. I just want to give thanks to them for keeping me going.”

Early this season, Lewis hasn’t gotten the touches he hoped he would get. He’s played in just three games and has seen most of his action on special teams. He has one catch, a 9-yard grab in the second quarter of Miami’s 77-7 blowout win over Savannah State. He also had one catch, a 7-yarder, in Miami’s 27-23 comeback win over North Carolina on Thursday.

For Lewis, that’s been an adjustment. He was a former first-team All-County selection and one of the go-to players at Miramar during the Patriots’ run to the Class 8A state championship game.

His success continued early at Miami when he quickly emerged as one of Stephen Morris’ top targets, catching eight passes for 73 yards in his first four games. Against Boston College in the Hurricanes’ 2012 season opener, his Miami debut, Lewis had four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown.

Then three weeks later came Georgia Tech in late September, his season-ending injury and rehab. Through it all, Lewis tried to remain involved and connected to the program, watching game film on his iPad and checking in often with his teammates.

When his spirits wavered this season, his mom was the one that turned the tables on her son, reminding him of what he’d told her when the injury first happened.

“He’s still working his way to the top. He knows a couple of games they didn’t get him in and when he first went back out there, he was a little bit down and a little bit disappointed,” Marlene Lewis said. “But I just talked to him and said, ‘You have to be patient. You’re just coming off a broken ankle. They want to make sure you’re more than 100 percent. They want to make sure you’re really, really ready.’”

His mom’s advice has helped, and Lewis has stepped up his efforts in practice. He admits at first, he was nervous about how his ankle would respond on cuts and routes, but the more time he’s on the field, the more comfortable he’s getting.

And Miami coach Al Golden and Morris have noticed.

“The fact that he’s back and he’s done so many great things for us, even the little chances he’s had to be on the field, he’s done a great job,” Morris said.

Added Golden, “What a brave young man. He never made an excuse, made all of his treatments, did everything extra to expedite his return…I’ve been saying it the last five, six practices. He’s starting to look like Malcolm again.”